Transitioning through California

If there is one thing I’ve learned on the PCT is that California is a freaking long state. I just got into Belden, California, which brings me just short of mile 1300. However, I still have at least 400 miles to go before I get to Oregon. Now when most people think of California, they know there is quite a difference between NorCal and SoCal. Well, to help keep our sanity, us PCT hikers break down California into 3 sections: Southern California, Central California, and Northern California; I am now just entering Northern California. The imaginary boundaries we set are (1) Kennedy Meadows (just before the trail enters the Sequoia National Forest, which I believe truly does sit directly on the dividing line between Southern California and Central California), and (2) Belden (or sometimes Sierra City, which separates Central California from Northern California). I would probably claim Sierra City as the true boundary because after finishing this last section, it certainly felt like I left the high passes of Central California and entered the beautiful and dense forests of Northern California. I believe the most exciting part of a thru-hike compared to a section hike or a weekend hike is experiencing the transition between one landscape to the next and seeing how the hot desert floor of the Mojave can turn into the high peaks of the Sierras. Seeing the transitions through this great state of California has been unbelievable, and I cannot wait to see what wonders still lie ahead. 

Southern California 

As one can imagine, much of Southern California is dominated by hot, dry, and sunny sections, but there were a lot of things I didn’t really expect. First, I would argue that there were a few times the trail went through true desert and actually most of the trail in Southern California traveled through the forests full of chaparral shrubs. I was actually a bit disappointed that the only time I saw fields full of different types of cacti was in the Anzo Borrego State Park just past the Scissors Crossing. It was also neat how the first half of Southern California was dominated by agave and yucca plants while the second half had fields of their closely related cousin, the Joshua Tree (which I had thought were endemic to the State Park). I was also throughly impressed with the giant peaks down in Southern California such as Mount San Jacinto and Mount Baden Powell. It was great to get relief of the higher altitudes with the nice pine forests and then dip back down into the chaparral. I was also very surprised how long the Southern California section lasted. After leaving Mojave around mile 550, I actually entered the start of the Sierras, but just because they’re called the Sierras doesn’t mean they are as cool and flowing with water as up in Yosemite. It truly wasn’t until I got to mile 700 and took an amazing little swim in the South Fork of the Kern River a mile or so outside Kennedy Meadows that I finally felt like I had finished Southern California.

Central California 

Honestly, the most distinctive feature of Central California are the high passes and monumental valleys up in the High Sierras. As I have described in previous posts, these passes take the hiker from majestic views of crystal clear alpine lakes, down rushing rivers, and into lush meadows and forests in the valley, and then just keep repeating. After I left Yosemite, the trail tended to stay down in the forests more, but all of a sudden, the trail would shoot up a ridge-line, and I had phenomenal views out across the mountains. In Central California, I was almost always at altitude and even 10,000 feet seems low at times. I remember the forests here can be a bit different as well only rooted in a little rock and gravel. One view out in Sequoia National Park, I could just see a wide view of trees with a layer of grey underneath. I would also have to give a shout out to all the beautiful lakes and meadows in this region that were always lit up by the sunny blue skies. The Desolation Wilderness, to the west of massive Lake Tahoe, was teaming with lakes which I’m sure would have been great to just relax and spend the day if I didn’t need to keep moving. I would say only after leaving Donner Pass (where I-80 manages to cut through the mountains and the site of the infamous Donner Party), did the trail start to transition out of these higher passes and ridges of Central California as I entered Sierra City. Central California was so beautiful almost to the point that it was too much. I felt by putting in 20+ mile days, it was harder to appreciate the great view which just means I’ll have to come back many more times to truly soak in all the beauty this region has to offer.

Northern California 

As I said before, while in this last section from Sierra City to Belden contains some of the features of Central California such as the impressive Sierra Buttes, it started to feel quite a bit different as I was hiking. Up here, the trail starts to go through more heavily forested areas, but I still got great views even though I was not always up above the timberline. The views were every couple of miles or so, sometimes through the trees which is a lot more manageable and really reminds me of hiking on the East Coast with nicer West Coast grades. I was saying to another thru-hiker that this is the best area to thru-hike because it is easy to appreciate everything around and still put in the big miles. Plus, I love hiking in these dense forests. The other big difference I’ve noticed from Central California is there are more road crossings and logging roads. In Central California, much of the area was simply inaccessible to logging due to all of the mountains and lower density of trees leaving thousands of prime acres to be saved as wilderness areas. I also noticed that whenever I did come to a road, it would be some famous pass such as Sonora Pass, Carson Pass, or Donner Pass which settlers had to brave just over 150 years ago. It’s funny ho the PCT only crosses I-10, and then skips up to I-80 for the major east-west interstates because all the highway engineers must have said, “no way am I building a road across those mountains, drivers can just drive around them,” and I’m very glad they did. However, up here in Northern California, I crossed a few more roads which I’m actually starting to see as a nice reminder of civilization and how great it is to be just hiking out in the woods.

As far what as the rest of Northern California holds for me, I cannot be too sure. I’ve heard many crazy rumors of things such as the unbearable 30 mile waterless stretch across Hat Creek Rim, crazy forest raves you can hear from miles away, insane ATV riders who aren’t afraid to run hikers down, Leprechauns, and other alien and supernatural encounters around Mount Shasta, California, so it will be hard to be let down. I expected the worst in Southern California and was greatly surprised. I had high expectations for Central California which somehow still were exceeded by the unforgettable views. Now, I can sit back, cruise, and take it all in. I cannot wait to see what’s lying ahead of me on this awesome trail, and then I still have two more states to pass through.